Processing Grain with a Rubber Mat
This is one way we have found to process small quantities of grain quickly and easily. We used a rubber doormat with little bumps on it, if you don't have one you could try using the mats from your car - any mat with a deep texture on it should work well.
This does work best on a clean, tiled or lino floor, as you can then sweep up and reuse any bits that escape.
Here we are using Spelt, but it works well for Oats, Wheat
etc as well.
All
you do is wash the mat and your shoes, then roll the grains around on the mat
with your foot.
We are only doing a small quantity here to make it clearer, but you can do much more at a time.
As
long as it is dry, the husks and awns will crumble . . . . . .
. . . and the grains will fall safely into the hollows in the mat. (here in closeup)
Now
pour the mixture through a 1/4 inch riddle into a big bowl - only the clean
seed and tiny bits of chaff will fall through.
If there are lots of grains still in their husks they will be caught in
the riddle and you can put them back on the mat and stomp on them some more.
Winnow
the seed by pouring it from one bowl to another in a steady breeze.
In the picture the wind is coming from right to left.
You can see how the chaff has blown away onto the ground at the bottom left, while the denser grain is less affected by the wind and has gone into the bowl.
Repeat this 3 or 4 times to get rid of all the chaff.
If the wind blows stronger, pour from lower down.
The first time you try this, do it over a plastic sheet, so that you can
try again when you miss! It is very easy to get the hang of it though.